THUNDER BAY – The nearly one million dollars spent by the city to raise the historic James Whalen tugboat means planned work on a fountain at Waverley Park will be further delayed, among other impacts.
The news was included in a staff report presented to city council on Monday, prompting hard questions and some sharp words from councillors on administration’s handling of the incident – along with questions over how much more it could cost to deal with the tug.
Administration indicated that answer could take years to deliver, with a follow-up report on the tug's future not planned until the spring of 2024.
Coun. Shelby Ch'ng called for administration to include options including scrapping, selling, or sinking the boat, saying she feared it could cost millions to restore it, while Coun. Cody Fraser said its future likely lies in the scrapyard.
The discussion came during the final meeting of council’s 2018-2022 term, with winners of the Oct. 24 municipal election set to take office Tuesday.
Ch’ng said the tug’s sinking had been “a contentious issue” during the campaign, with Coun. Albert Aiello agreeing it had been a “very, very hot topic."
Both joined colleagues in questioning city manager Norm Gale's decision to declare the situation an emergency, leading to approval of over $800,000 in recovery work.
"In my ward, $800,000 would pave longstanding gravel roads people have been fighting [to pave] since amalgamation – so that’s a lot of money," Aiello said.
"Who’s responsible, and how did it get to the state that it did?" Coun. Rebecca Johnson asked.
Gale called the incident an example of the consequences of the city’s long-term underfunding of its infrastructure needs.
The "infrastructure gap" has long been discussed at city hall, with staff estimating the city would need to spend upwards of $20 million more each year to properly maintain the assets it has and budget for their replacement.
“Parks is responsible for over 100 historical artifacts, and typically only $50,000 per year is budgeted for capital renewal and maintenance of those artifacts," Gale said.
However, he also suggested administration had done its due diligence in maintaining the tug.
After it sunk, staff said, dive teams discovered a four-by-twelve inch breach of the hull that appeared to be caused by corrosion and hadn't been present during an inspection in 2021.
“Assessment of the vessel by a marine contractor the prior year showed no indication that a catastrophic failure would be likely due to corrosion,” Gale said.
The 117-year-old vessel, which the city purchased in the 1990s as an attraction, sunk from its berth at the Kaministiquia River Heritage Park after unexpectedly taking on water on April 30, though that wasn't discovered until the following day.
A pump added after a previous incident in 2021 hadn't yet been re-installed after removal for winter, with staff citing consistent cold temperatures. It wouldn't have saved the vessel in any case, Halvorsen said Monday, estimating the breach caused flows 20 to 40 times beyond what that pump could handle.
The Whalen was lifted from the river floor in September and moved to a dry dock, in a complex operation involving a heavy lift barge, cranes, pumps, and divers that was overseen by local contractor LH North.
The contract was worth just over $896,000, including up to two years of storage, but will cost the city closer to $807,000 after an HST rebate, staff reported. The city previously cited a $793,000 figure for the contract.
The recovery costs will be paid from various reserve funds within the parks and open spaces division, setting back projects including restoration of fountains at Waverley Park.
Parks and open spaces manager Cory Halvorsen said that work wasn't yet ready to proceed in any case, but would be delayed until the reserve could be replenished.
Johnson lamented a further delay for work that had “been on the books for a long time – a long time,” and questioned what other impacts would follow.
Halvorsen called the fountains the “most notable” example, involving about $336,000 in budgeted work.
The report on the tug planned for 2024 will also examine how the city should handle its other parks assets, Gale added.
The Lakehead Transportation Museum Society had lobbied to have the tugboat moved permanently for display at its leased site at the former Pool 6 elevator property.
In an interview Monday, Gale wouldn't comment on whether the group was still interested.
The city has noted the tugboat wouldn’t fit within the current boundaries of the museum society's site at Pool 6, but staff also recently said no potential sites had been ruled out – including a return to to Kam River Heritage Park.
